of
giving the person confidence in the thing. All ceremonies of this kind
have for their purpose merely the holding of the attention of the person
investigating, and giving him confidence in-the result--the latter having
a decided psychological value, of course.

There are but few general directions necessary for the person wishing to
experiment in crystal gazing. The principal thing is to maintain quiet,
and an earnest, serious state of mind--do not make a merry game of it, if
you wish to obtain results. Again, always have the light behind your back,
instead of facing you. Gaze calmly at the crystal, but do not strain your
eyes. Do not try to avoid winking your eyes--there is a difference between
"gazing" and "staring," remember. Some good authorities advise making
funnels of the hands, and using them as you would a pair of opera glasses.

In many cases, a number of trials are required before you will be able to
get good results. In others, at least some results are obtained at the
first trial. It is a good plan to try to bring into vision something that
you have already seen with the physical eyes--some familiar object. The
first sign of actual psychic seeing in the crystal usually appears as a
cloudy appearance, or "milky-mist," the crystal gradually losing its
transparency. In this milky cloud then gradually appears a form, or face,
or scene of some kind, more or less plainly defined. If you have ever
developed a photographic film or plate, you will know how the picture
gradually comes into view.

W.T. Stead, the eminent English investigator of psychic phenomena, has
written as follows regarding the phenomena of crystal-gazing: "There are
some persons who cannot look into an ordinary globular bottle without
seeing pictures form themselves without any effort or will on their part,
in the crystal globe. Crystal-gazing seems to be the least dangerous and
most simple of all forms of experimenting. You simply look into a crystal
globe the size of a five-shilling piece, or a water-bottle which is full
of clear water, and which is placed so that too much light does not fall
upon it, and then simply look at it. You make no incantations, and engage
in no mumbo-jumbo business; you simply look at it for two or three
minutes, taking care not to tire yourself, winking as much as you please,
but fixing your thought upon whatever you wish to see. Then, if you have
the faculty, the glass will cloud over with a milky mist, and in t